The Bird brothers talk about the Marvel Comics comic books they grew up reading. Steve has been a comics pro since 2000 and Matt is the author of “The Secrets of Story: Innovative Tools for Perfecting Your Fiction and Captivating Readers." They’re eightie
MRC finishes up October of 1967 with Fantastic Four 67, Strange Tales 161 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense 94 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers 45. The Creature in Lock 41! The Id-Paralyzer! All-Swipes! Titanium Miniskirts! MODOK vs. Beekeepers! Waffle-Pattern Eyes! Check it out!
MRC launches into October of 1967 with Amazing Spider-Man #53, Daredevil #33, Thor #145, Tales to Astonish #96 with Namor and Hulk, and X-Men #37! Seeds of the clone sagas! A laundry list of things not associated with beetles! T-Shirt Thor! Polar Serpents! The Beginning of the End of Human Evolution! Far Out Helmets! Check it out!
MRC wraps up September 1967 with Fantastic Four #66, Strange Tales #160 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #93 with Iron Man and Captain America and Avengers #44! Electroni-Blades! Gravity-Nullifying Belts! The Lost Communion of Evil Intent! MODOK! Deadly belt buckles! Check it out!
MRC goes guestless to tackle the first half of September, 1967, with Amazing Spider-Man 52, Daredevil 32, Thor 144, Tales to Astonish 95 with Namor and the Hulk, and X-Men 36! Penthouse Dungeons! Convenient antidotes! Asgaaard! The resource curse! Vacuum rays! The Quest for Gas Money! Check it out!
George O'Connor returns to help MRC finish off August of 1967 with Fantastic Four 65, Strange Tales 159 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense 92 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers 43! Auras of Negativism! Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine! La Leche Es Verde! 4/5ths Face! The Ultimate No-Prize! Convenient Homing-Beam Gizmos! Check it out!
MRC welcomes special guest George O'Connor to cover the books of August, 1967! A discussion of George's Asgardians graphic novels leads right into Thor 143, then Amazing Spider-Man 51, Daredevil 31, Tales to Astonish 94 with Namor and the Hulk, and X-Men 35! Lots of heroes pretending they don't know how money works! Pre-Puzo Puzo! Convenient fire-fighter nets! Lost weekends! Check it out!
MRC finishes up July of 1967, with Fantastic Four 64, Daredevil 30, Thor 142, Tales of Suspense 91 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers 42! Wonder of Wonders! Matt as Mike as DD as Thor! Anti-Force! Centrifugal Rays! Check it out!
MRC welcome super-special guest Dan McCoy, Emmy-winning writer and co-host of The Flophouse! We discuss four books from July 1967: Amazing Spider-Man 50, Strange Tales 158 with SHIELD and Dr Strange, Tales to Astonish 93 with Namor and Hulk, and X-Men 34! Spidey No More! Monocle upon eye patch upon monocle! An actual Pink Floyd Album cover! Shameless swipes! Check it out!
MRC finishes up June of 1967 with Fantastic Four #63, Strange Tales #157 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #90 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers #41! The NYPD's Cement-Bazooka Squad! Hallucination Cubes! Neckless! 24-Hour Treason! Heckless! Check it out!
MRC unmasks June 1967, with Amazing Spider-Man 49, Daredevil #29, Thor 141, Tales to Astonish 92 with Namor and the Hulk, and X-Men 33. Bamboo TV! Dissociative identity disorder! Rasslin'! It! Wile E. Coyote Holes! Cyttorak Lollipops! Check it out!
MRC finishes up May of 1967 with Fantastic Four #62, Strange Tales #156 featuring SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #89 featuring Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers #40! Blastaar! Zip-a-Tone-Man! Zom! Bachelor Life! The Amalga-Beast! Check it out!
MRC steals the gimmick of May 1967, starting with Amazing Spider-Man #48, Daredevil #28, Thor #140, Tales to Astonish #91 with Namor and Hulk, and X-Men #32! Cruci-fiction! Blind/Freeze-Rays! Stimuloids! Democracy sucks! Infinite Weapons! Satan's Saints! Check it out!
MRC returns from hiatus to finish April 1967, going all out of order with Daredevil #27, Fantastic Four #61, Avengers #39, Tales of Suspense #88 with Captain America and Iron Man, and Thor #139! Rocking chair helicopters! Latverian headshop blacklight posters! Thunderboot! Pepper hooves! Kane tech! Colletta really messing this one up! Check it out!
To discuss the first half of April 1967, MRC welcomes legendary comics journalist Heidi MacDonald (who actually knew Marie Severin and tells us about her!) She chose her favorites, so we're out of order, doing X-Men 31, Amazing Spider-Man 47, Tales to Astonish 90 featuring Namor and Hulk, and Strange Tales 155 featuring SHIELD and Dr Strange! Check it out!
MRC finishes up March of 1967 with Fantastic Four #60, Strange Tales #154 with SHIELD and Doctor Strange, Tales of Suspense #87 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers #38! The Watcher Can't Even Watch! Darts of Doom! Veritas! Boring and Riveting! The Bamboo Curtain! Check it out!
MRC launches into March of 1967 with special guest Bill Cairns, covering Amazing Spider-Man #46, Daredevil #26, Thor #138, Tales to Astonish with Namor and Hulk #89 and X-Men #30. Vibro-Thumbs! More Mike! Matchless Fist Pounders! Whale vs Robot! A Tale of Two Sparlings! Check it out!
MRC finishes up February of 1967 with Fantastic Four #59, Strange Tales #153 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #86 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers #36. Solar-Beam guns! Ultra-Magnetic Stabilizers! The Pillar of Peril! A Good Ol' American One-Two to the Kisser! Beeper Dogs! Ixar! Check it out!
MRC swings into February 1967 with Amazing Spider-Man #45, Daredevil #25, Thor #137, Tales to Astonish #88 with Namor and Hulk and X-Men #29. Fights atop trains! Mike Murdoch! Spear skills! Alien littering! Revolutionary War Underground Throne-rooms! Check it out!
MRC finishes up January 1967 with Fantastic Four #58, Strange Tales with SHIELD and Dr. Strange #152, Tales of Suspense with Iron Man and Captain America #85 and Avengers #36! The Dismal Dregs of Defeat! White Knuckles! Cunning and Guile! Note-taking! Name of a Name! Burgomeisters! Check it out!
MRC slithers into January 1967 with Amazing Spider-Man #44, Daredevil #24, Thor #136, Tales to Astonish #87 with Namor and the Hulk, and X-Men #28. One Last Glimpse of Penn Station! Armed Brigands! Him Who Is Unknown! Mysterious Paste-Ups! Thews! Pliers! Check it out!
It's our landmark 100th episode, with very special guest, National Book Award winner Dan Santat! We discuss the 1966 Annuals: Amazing Spider-Man Annual #3, Fantastic Four Annual #4, and Giant-Size Thor #2! Testiness! Anguish! Brawling! Check it out!
MRC and guest comics journalist Rob Salkowitz finish up December 1966 with Fantastic Four #57, Strange Tales #151 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #84 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers #35! High Intensity Inductors! Steranko! (with commentary from Steranko himself, who Steve just interviewed!) Lots of Ditko swipes! Another villain with all the powers of the heroes! Cap's disintegrated shield! Check it out!
Eisner-nominated comics journalist Rob Salkowitz rejoins us to discuss December 1966, featuring Amazing Spider-Man #43, Daredevil #23, Thor #135, Tales to Astonish #86 with Namor and the Hulk, and X-Men #27. The draft! Splashes! Genetic Accelerators! Grandenetti! Red belts! Check it out!
MRC welcomes back special guest Rachel Gluckstern to finish up the comics from November of 1966 with Fantastic Four #56, Strange Tales #150 with SHIELD and Doctor Strange, Tales of Suspense #83 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers #34! The Space-Time-Research-Visi-Phone! The Overkill Horn! Umar! McNamara! Not the Acrobat! Laser people representation! Check it out!
MRC welcomes veteran comics editor Rachel Gluckstern to talk about November 1966, starting with Amazing Spider-Man 42, Daredevil 22, Thor 134, Tales to Astonish 85 with Namor and Hulk and X-Men 26! Mary Jane! Mafia FaceTime interviews! The High Evolutionary! Tartaglione ruins Buscema! Proto-Frogger! Check it out!
MRC finishes up October 1966 with Fantastic Four #55, Strange Tales #149 with SHIELD and Doctor Strange, Tales of Suspense #82 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers #33! Whitey! Whitney! Good Samaritans! One-Wheeler Wubble Roller-Skates! The Adaptoid! Outside Agitators! Check it out!
ASM smashes headlong into October of 1966, with Amazing Spider-Man #41, Daredevil #21, Thor #133, Tales to Astonish #84 with Namor and the Hulk, and X-Men #25! Biker Pete! Forbidden Chambers! Fluid Bio-Verses! Paging Dr. Namor! The Whole Blamed Bullpen! Kukulcan! Check it out!
MRC finishes up the ninth month of the year of Soupy Sales, 1966, with Fantastic Four #54, Strange Tales #148 with SHIELD and Dr Strange, Tales of Suspense #81 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers #32! Prester on the John! The Tri-Di-Roentgen Hand-Gun! Jogging borders! Small-of-the-Back-Kicking! Excessive Irony! Check it out!
MRC launches into September 1966 with Amazing Spider-Man #40, Daredevil #20, Thor #132, Tales to Astonish #83 with Namor and Hulk and X-Men #24! Sun Blast! Sonic Vortex! Power Borer! And those are all in the same panel! Check it out!
MRC finishes up August 1966, which means X-Men #23, Tales to Astonish #82 with Namor and Hulk, Strange Tales #147 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, and Avengers #31! More bickering! Kirby record-scratch! Sheer coincidence! Steel Skull Cap! A Boss Bunch'a Threads! By Wavy Hair Betrayed! Check it out!
MRC returns with the first half of August, 1966! That means Amazing Spider-Man #39, Daredevil #19, Thor #131, and then, because Marvel published the books out of order this month, Tales of Suspense #80! Romita times 2! One of those avant-garde New York happenings! Br'er Tony! Full Simek! Check it out!
Veteran Marvel penciller Georges Jeanty rejoins us to discuss Fantastic Four 52 and 53, the two-part debut of the Black Panther! Cassette recorders! Whistling Watusi! Check it out!
MRC continues our march through July 1966! We're saving Fantastic Four for a special episode, so we're covering X-Men #22, Strange Tales #46 with SHIELD and (the final Ditko) Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #79 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers #30! Making fun of the Mets! Hammer-Hand Androids! The Cosmic Cube! Wavy Hair! Check it out!
MRC begins July of 1966 with Amazing Spider-Man #38 (Ditko's final issue), Daredevil #18, Thor #130, and Tales to Astonish #81 with Namor and Hulk. Pete vs. Protesters! Flying Gladiator! Elbow Lines! Underwater Radio Shack! Thick Red Washer Man! Check it out!
MRC welcomes back Marvel superstar David Baldeon to finish up the month of June, 1966, with Fantastic Four #51, Strange Tales #145 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #78 with Iron Man and Captain America and Avengers #29! “This Man, This Monster”! Ramroddin'! Mister Rasputin! Acid-soaked Humanoids! Dr. Yen's Brainwashing! Check it out!
MRC delves into June 1966 with our special guest, Marvel superstar penciller David Baldeon, live from Barcelona! We discuss Amazing Spider-Man 37, Daredevil 17, Thor 129, Tales to Astonish 80 with Hulk and Namor, and X-Men 21! Females! White mouth drapes! Tana Nile! Underwater fences! Tyrannoids! Dude ranchers! Check it out!
MRC finishes up May 1966 with Fantastic Four #50, Strange Tales #144 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #77 with Iron Man and Captain America and Avengers 28! Egg Armaments! Thero Ray! Multiple Jet Gun! Traction Nodules! And those are all in the same panel! Check it out!
MRC loots May of 1966, with Spider-Man #36, Daredevil #16, Thor #128, Tales to Astonish #79 with Namor and the Hulk, and X-Men #20! Dazzle Guns! Hydraulic Hoists! Beast-Fish! Actually decent inking on Sub-Mariner! Organic Energy Attractors! Check it out!
MRC concludes April of 1966 with returning special guest Riley Brown, featuring Fantastic Four #49, Strange Tales #143 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #76 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers #27! Burrito-Reed! Brainwave Stimulators! The Seven Rings of Raggadorr! Ultimo! Inferno 42! The Subliminal Recall Inducer! Check it out!
MRC welcomes Marvel superstar penciller Riley Brown to help us launch April 1966, with Amazing Spider-Man #35, Daredevil #15, Tales to Astonish #78 with Namor and Hulk, Thor #127 and X-Men #19! Spider-butt modesty! And extra set of Ox garments! Off-model Puppet Master! Gray-haired Betty! Hollywood! Scott's double! Check it out!
MRC trembles before the second half of March, 1966, with Fantastic Four #48, Strange Tales #142 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #75 with Iron Man and Captain America, and Avengers #26! Silver Surfer Sans Underpants! Them! Bomb-bombs! Zut Alors! Hawkeye''s Showgirls! Check it out!
MRC dreams of March 1966 with Amazing Spider-Man #34, Daredevil #14, Thor #126, Tales to Astonish #77 with Namor and Hulk, and X-Men #18! So many blinds! Vibra-Rays! Proto-Krackle! Magnetic Attraction! Check it out!
MRC finishes up February 1966 with Fantastic Four #47, Strange Tales #141 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #74 with Iron Man and Captain America and Avengers #25. Atmo-guns! Bazooka drills! The Enervator! Soupy Sales! The Plasti-Dome! Check it out!
MRC struggles under the weight of February 1966 with Amazing Spider-Man #33, Daredevil #13, Journey Into Mystery #125 with Thor, Tales to Astonish #76 with Namor and the Hulk and X-Men #17! More poor photojournalism ethics! Vibrating shorts! Exploso-rays! High intensity paralyzer howitzers! Check it out!
MRC finishes up January 1966 with Fantastic Four #46, Strange Tales #140 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #73 with Namor and the Hulk, and Avengers #24. Universal Control Rods! Blisteringly accurate barking burp guns! Pincers of Power! Post-Heck Iron Man! Gas guns that look suspiciously like real guns! Protecto-Shields! Check it out!
MRC launches into January 1966 with Amazing Spider-Man #32, Daredevil #12, Journey Into Mystery with Thor #124, Tales to Astonish #75 with Hulk and Namor, and X-Men #16. A clean break! Cruise ships with planks! Hercules teasing! Revitalizer Rays! Perilously low ceilings! Check it out!
MRC finishes up December 1965 with a whopping five books: Fantastic Four #45, Strange Tales #139 with SHIELD and Dr. Strange, Tales of Suspense #72 with Captain America and Iron Man, X-Men #15 and Avengers #23! Iconometric Framistat! Electrified thought-waves! The concealed Spectro-Wave! Check it out!
MRC expands into December 1965 with Amazing Spider-Man #31, Daredevil #11, Journey Into Mystery with Thor #123 and Tales to Astonish #74 with the Sub-Mariner and Hulk. Gwen! Little frauds! Sheath confusion! Armored Mobile Defenso-Walls! Check it out!
MRC finishes up November 1965 with Tales of Suspense #71 with Iron Man and Captain America, Tales to Astonish #73 with Namor and the Hulk, X-Men #14 and Avengers #22. More Sinnott! Titanium burping! Revolting peasants! Watcher cocktails! Terrifying ice slides! Masks on masks!
MRC delves into November 1965 with Amazing Spider-Man #30, Fantastic Four #44, Journey Into Mystery #122 featuring Thor and Strange Tales #138 featuring SHIELD and Dr. Strange. Cat confusion! Squiggly eyeballs! Blackmailing the wrong god! Overseas! Eternity! Check it out!
It's our King-Size 1965 Annuals episode! Veteran Marvel penciller Georges Jeanty joins us to discuss Journey Into Mystery Annual #1 featuring Thor, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2, featuring Dr. Strange, and Fantastic Four Annual #3, featuring the wedding of Reed and Sue! Check it out!